Last updated at 06:43, Friday, 30 July 2010

AN ONLINE protest group has been set up against proposals to charge residents for parking permits.

Cumbria County Council is looking at options to help it offset expected cuts in Government grants.

One way to help it raise extra cash is to charge people an annual fee for the permits.

The authority’s highways and transport working group has investigated the options and a report will go to the ruling cabinet later this year.

The authority has pledged to consult the public before charges are introduced.

At present, motorists who live in disc zones can get free permits to park all day for any vehicle they own.

Proposals tabled last year would have rationed free permits to one per household. Extra permits, charged at £10, would be issued only where officials judged there was “spare capacity”.

Those plans were not taken further amid fears they might create a black market where non-drivers would sell their permits to car-owning neighbours.

Laurence Ashbridge, 52, of Infirmary Road, has set up a group on social networking website Facebook, called Cumbrians against residential parking permits, to encourage people to put pressure on the council.

He said: “These suggestions are disgusting and it is an absolute outrage that we could have to pay to park on our streets.

“Due to all the problems with disc parking I sometimes cannot even park on my own road so to be charged for not even parking next to my house is just ridiculous.

“I have set up the group so we can generate interest in the matter and so people can put forward their suggestions.

“I hope that every resident in Cumbria will join together to fight this ridiculous plan and nip it in the bud before it goes any further.”

Mr Ashbridge suggested if the council could not afford to run the disc parking scheme, it should scrap it and introduce town centre charges.

He added: “To persecute town centre residents so that shoppers can park free in the town centre should be a criminal offence.”

A county council spokesman said: “Like every highways authority, Cumbria considers its parking arrange-ments and assesses whether or not its current scheme is appropriate.

“Naturally with the current financial situation we are looking at whether this needs to be changed.

“This is still at an extremely early stage and charging for permits is just one avenue we are looking at.”

l Letters – Page 10

First published at 19:28, Thursday, 29 July 2010
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk